Wednesday, 7 September 2016

France Sees Sharp Fall In Number Of Citizens Joining ISIS

France Sees Sharp Fall In Number Of Citizens Joining ISIS

Paris: The number
of French citizens travelling to join ISIS in 2016 has dropped
drastically from last year, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on
Tuesday, putting the fall down to military reverses suffered by the
terrorist group.

With Europe's largest Muslim population, France
has been a major centre for recruitment of would-be jihadis joining
ISIS, with hundreds of people travelling to the region since the group
took control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Speaking to
security agents at the ministry, Cazeneuve said there had been a
"fourfold decrease" with just 18 French people recorded travelling to
the area in the first six months of the year compared with 69 in the
corresponding period in 2015.

The depletion, he said, was
explained by the group's recent losses on the ground but also by
France's "enhanced anti-terrorism efforts."

According
to interior ministry figures released on Tuesday, 689 French citizens
are still in the region, including 275 women and 17 underage fighters.

More
than 900 people have been identified as having either attempted to
travel to the region or expressed a desire to go there, the ministry's
figures showed.